Celebrating ‘The Times of Harvey Milk’

Hollywood recently shocked me, and that’s not an easy feat to accomplish.

Director Gus Van Sant orchestrated an incredible remake based on a documentary that chronicled the life of California politician Harvey Milk. It’s rare for moviegoers to see a remake earn such critical praise. Van Sant’s movie, Milk, earned a best picture nod at the Academy Awards, while Sean Penn won his second Oscar for his portrayal of the first openly gay public official in California.

I can’t remember a more touching and compelling picture in recent memory than Van Sant’s Milk. Audiences were astounded by the true events in the story, which took place in the 1970s. I found it truly hard to believe a story can be so distressing, yet inspiring. Despite my love for the motion picture, there’s a better source for this story, which says a lot. In fact, it’s the documentary that preceded the motion picture.

The Times of Harvey Milk was a documentary released in 1984 by director Rob Epstein, who captured the essence of Milk through triumph and tragedy. The film won best documentary at the Oscars, inspiring Van Sant to direct the Penn drama 24 years later. I recently watched the Milk documentary, and nothing compares to this thought-provoking tale of morality, tolerance, hatred, and hope in the streets of San Francisco.

Milk was one of the most inspiring figures of his time, fighting endlessly for equal rights pertaining not only to gays, but to all minorities whose ideas and representation in public office were suppressed. Simply put, Milk wasn’t only about fighting for gay rights, rather, the former supervisor for the city of San Francisco cared about everyone. His unbelievable journey from the Castro to City Hall is beautifully and accurately portrayed in this documentary.

The documentary is narrated by Harvey Fierstein, who echoes the moving story through his recognizable voice. Several of Milk’s closest associates during his movement are interviewed, which include Anne Kronenberg, Tory Hartmann, Tom Ammiano and Jim Elliot. The interviewees deliver personal insight into Milk and his fight against fellow city supervisor Dan White and the anti-gay movement. Milk’s allies are very open during the film, laughing about their time with him, before being reduced to tears by the conclusion.

The best part of the documentary is the archival footage and tapes collected by Epstein and his producers. I felt Milk was talking to me in first person for most of the film, creating a close-up angle to this gripping subject. The film also exceeds the new Van Sant movie by extracting more about supervisor White. His motives during the political bout with Milk are more clearly depicted in the documentary, which gives a clearer picture about the tragic events that followed.

In the end, audiences are treated to a memorable documentary focused on painting a portrait of Milk, instead of pushing a specific agenda. The Times of Harvey Milk is a film you won’t soon forget.

The award-winning documentary is embedded below in its entirety via Hulu. The film is an incredibly emotional tale of one man’s hopes during turbulent times.